- A sample of social classes are the private classes, because it is the children of the households with the most money who resort to them, but the general trend is that in these years the money that families spend on these classes has increased. These are the conclusions of a study conducted in the Spanish state.
In the households with the most money, 60% of the students attend these extracurricular activities and in the households with the least resources, 30%. Data from the report Shadow Education in Spain, published by the Esade business school, by Juan Manuel Moreno, professor at the UNED and by the economist Ángel Martínez. Gedar and El Salto, among others, have made the study known.
Languages and music vs booster classes
After-school activities are also different according to social class. People with incomes send more to their children to study languages or to areas with artistic branches (music, dance...); those with lower social classes access more to private classes to reinforce and recover the basic subjects of the center (mathematics, physics..). In general, the selected activities include languages, which represent 46% of the expenditure of private classes.
The difference between bringing the child to public or concerted school is that in concerted families the proportion of students attending private classes is higher. And the difference is more evident in Compulsory Secondary Education and High School.
Private classes have become a “primary necessity” in many households, and current academic competence also has something to do with
According to the report, private classes have become a “primary necessity” in many households, and current academic competence also has something to do with it. At a time when good grades for certain careers are not enough and perfect grades are needed, the labour market has become a savage competition, many families see the need to invest in private classes.
The truth is that, as I said, those who have more resources have more access to private classes, and therefore are a segregating instrument, as shown in the questionnaire conducted by the Nationalist students: “The class educational gap increases, further hindering the possibility of quality education for the working class. This explains, among other things, the tendency of the poorest students to leave school early.”
Loss of opportunities for social cohesion
According to the Esade report, two out of every three euros spent on private classes in the Spanish State are destined to increase and improve their capacities, that is, to extracurricular activities such as languages, music, dance, etc. As we have just published in ARGIA, these kinds of after-school activities are also segregated between some children, which has important social consequences. "It also means losing networks. Children do not go to football or ballet alone, for many to feel part of such a thing is fundamental", we said, and we began the report with a claim: “The challenge as a country is to democratize and universalize participation in extracurricular activities that are part of education.”